Jan
23
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, according to Plato, that you cannot step in the same river twice due to the constantly-changing nature of the river. It’s a pretty good metaphor for expat life, especially when that expat life involves moving every 2-4 years. I think I’ve mentioned before that I lived in the same general area of a not …
Jan
22
One of the unexpected joys of living in Finland (and there are many) is Santa mania. According to This is Finland, Finns have been claiming that Santa lives in Finland since 1927. Reindeer, after all, can’t survive winter at the North Pole, but they can in Lapland! It follows that Santa’s Village, located in Rovaniemi …
Sep
01
We left Oslo via train and headed north to Dombås and then on to Åndalsnes on what ended up being quite a scenic ride on the Rauma Railway. While the first leg of the journey cuts up the middle of Norway and takes you past Lillehammer and the home of Peer Gynt, the second leg …
Aug
14
The kids and I arrived in Finland nine months ago almost to the day. Nine and a half months ago, then, we packed everything we owned into a 40′ shipping container and sent it off on a long journey via train, boat, and truck to our new home in Helsinki. We had decluttered enough of …
Jun
09
Six months ago, in the depths of my first Finnish winter, I wrote about my experiences with Light Therapy and Seasonal Affective Disorder. At the time, with the sun barely rising above the horizon mid-day, I couldn’t imagine the same landscape with the reverse effect. Today, with the days charging toward 19 hours of daylight, …
Jun
01
I like to bake. People have been known to covet my pie and my pancakes have garnered acclaim on two continents. And then there’s my bread and my pizza dough. I mean, when it comes to baking, I know what I’m doing, right? I have conquered high-altitude baking. I unraveled the mysteries of British flour …
May
26
About 80km across the Gulf of Finland lies an interesting counterpoint to Helsinki: Tallinn, Estonia. A country that emerged from behind the Iron Curtain only 20 short years ago, Estonia has done much to modernize without losing site of its long history. A major shipping port for hundreds of years (Helsinki was originally founded by …
May
25
When we announced that we were moving to Helsinki, we got quite a variety of reactions, one of which, sadly, was “Where?” Admittedly, Finland is not a typical vacation destination for Americans, but that’s a shame considering all it has to offer. Likewise, stopping off in Helsinki for a day on the way somewhere else–which …
Apr
29
Misunderstandings are a part of expat life. Language barriers, cultural differences, and a desire to attribute meaning when sometimes there is none–all of these are experienced on a regular basis. Such was the case when I posted the following in my post, Easter in Finland: Of course, it wouldn’t be a holiday in Finland without …
Apr
21
Easter (pääsiäinen) is a big deal in Finland. Maybe it’s because it’s a major religious holiday for Finland’s 4.2 million Lutherans (yes, that’s nearly 80% of the population), but it also marks the first holiday of spring and a sort of precursor or warm up, as far as I can tell, to the major party …
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